ST. PAUL, Minn. — With not only his original centers mostly gone but also his replacement centers now dropping off, Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson decided to try Andreas Athanasiou at center Saturday against the Wild.
It actually worked rather well, even though a late Wild goal doomed the Hawks to a 3-1 loss — their fourth straight.
Athanasiou centered Lukas Reichel and MacKenzie Entwistle, who was bumped up to the first line after Philipp Kurashev’s injury in order to maintain the same second and third lines. Reichel scored the Hawks’ lone goal by looking off Athanasiou on a two-on-one and picking a corner.
“Reichel wouldn’t have that opportunity if [Athanasiou] didn’t skate hard and pull that ‘D’ off of him to give him the room,” Richardson said.
Added Reichel, whose confidence is clearly growing: “I’ve had a couple two-on-ones that I always try to force it a little bit with a pass. [I decided to] just shoot it, and [I’m] glad it went in.”
Opponents had generated a massive 70-27 advantage in scoring chances in Athanasiou’s five-on-five ice time over the last eight games, but the unexpected position change snapped him out of a funk and he managed a 7-7 split Saturday.
He did struggle on faceoffs, going 0-for-8, but that’s understandable considering he doesn’t seem to have played center regularly since 2018-19 with the Red Wings.
“That was one of his strongest games all year,” Richardson said. “I know guys that skate well [can play center]. Like even [Sam] Lafferty this year, moving him to wing and back to center, he seemed to always flourish at center. Maybe that’s going to be Athanasiou’s final outcome here.”
Although the Hawks finished with a 24-16 overall scoring-chance edge in the game, an old friend in Ryan Hartman scored the decisive goal with 1:11 left to give the Wild their eighth consecutive win over the Hawks since Feb. 2020.
Hartman surprised Connor Murphy in the neutral zone and maneuvered around Alex Stalock (22 saves) on the ensuing breakaway. Frederick Gaudreau tacked on an empty-net goal.
“From the start to the end, we played really in their way and frustrated them,” Richardson said. “[It’s] disappointing they didn’t get at least a point.”
It’s the fifth time in nine games the Hawks have conceded a go-ahead goal within the last eight minutes of regulation.
Mrazek returns quickly
Goalie Petr Mrazek’s decision to pull himself at the second intermission of the Hawks’ March 14 win over the Bruins due to groin discomfort has paid off.
Having dealt with recurring groin injuries for years now, he has become quite in-tune with slight changes in feeling in that area of his body. This time, he avoided a significant setback, recovering quickly enough to back up Stalock on Saturday.
“It didn’t feel right,” Mrazek said. “My leg felt a little loose. So I’m like, ‘I’m not coming back [in this game]. Let’s see how that feels.’ I made the right decision. I didn’t skate for three days and then came back and started skating. I’m glad that I made that choice.”
Ludwinski signs
The Hawks signed prospect forward Paul Ludwinski to a three-year entry-level contract with a $932,000 salary-cap hit.
Ludwinski, a second-round pick last summer, has struggled with some injuries this season while tallying 34 points in 47 OHL games. The contract doesn’t begin until next season and may well end up sliding until the season after.